Underpass

A brief but intense storm dropped enough rain on Elmhurst Thursday afternoon to flood the city's Palmer Drive underpass, even forcing fire trucks to avoid using it. Officials sent out a bulletin on the closing just after 4:30 p.m. and had city emergency vehicles parked on both the north and south approaches to the low point of the underpass to prevent drivers from attempting to pass through the standing water. The underpass takes traffic under the Metra tracks in the center of town.

The following items were taken from police reports: A $300 Coach-brand wallet, a $150 Coach-brand change purse, personal papers and two iPhone charging cords were stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked on the 7700 block of 162nd Place on May 26. A 40-year-old Tinley Park man was charged with domestic battery after threatening to slice his wife's throat with a steak knife during an altercation on the 7100 block of 173rd Place on May 25. ...

Downers Grove has added a key piece of property that figures to be a big part of its long-awaited Belmont Avenue underpass project. The Village Council unanimously approved Metra's $1.25 million acquisition of two parcels in the 4900 block of Belmont Road. The property will be used for pedestrian ramps to the station's platform, said village spokesman Doug Kozlowski. The project will feature two new parking lots, a pedestrian tunnel, an underwater retention system, two...

Glen Ellyn officials will be looking more closely at alternative ways for residents to cross the railroad tracks downtown, with hopes of easing congestion and improving safety. The board of trustees unanimously approved a $70,000 agreement with an outside firm for a feasibility study of pedestrian and vehicular overpasses and underpasses in the central business district. The report, which is expected to be completed and presented to the board by May, also will look at a...

A long-awaited underpass that opened Saturday in Bridgeview is expected to improve traffic flow around nearby Toyota Park, where cars were often stalled by slow-moving trains. The new 71st Street underpass will allow traffic to drive under the CSX and Indiana Harbor Belt tracks near Harlem Avenue. The crossing, just west of the 20,000-seat arena where the Chicago Fire play, sees about 80 trains a day, often creating traffic backups. The $30 million project began about two...

A long-awaited underpass that opened Saturday in Bridgeview is expected to improve traffic flow around nearby Toyota Park, where cars were often stalled by slow-moving trains. The new 71st Street underpass will allow traffic to drive under the CSX and Indiana Harbor Belt tracks near Harlem Avenue. The crossing, just west of the 20,000-seat arena where the Chicago Fire play, sees about 80 trains a day, often creating traffic backups. The $30 million project began about two...

After more than a decade of bureaucratic red tape, Downers Grove finally got the funds necessary to complete the Belmont Road underpass project. The village was notified Thursday that the Illinois Department of Transportation would commit about $8.3 million to the project. Construction will begin sometime in early 2009, Mayor Ron Sandack said. On the village's priority list since 1996, the $52 million project will create an underpass where Belmont would run beneath the...

Elmhurst city manager James Grabowski reviewed the city's five-year capital expenditure budget with city council members Monday, laying out a proposed spending plan of nearly $80 million and one that included a couple of surprises. One of those surprises was what appeared to be a $2 million increase in the expected cost of the Southwest Elmhurst Wet Weather Control facility, a group of improvements around the Saylor and Jackson lift station that officials say has the potential to...

By Damian Gill SYDNEY, Sept 5 (Reuters) - In Australia, the question is not why did the emu cross the road, but how? Australian road officials have proposed building emu underpasses beneath the east coast Pacific Highway so a population of endangered flightless emu can safely cross one of Australia's busiest and most dangerous roads. But wildlife experts say the emu, the world's 3rd largest bird and one which can run as fast as 50 kph (30mph), is ...

La Grange officials took a stand Monday by voting to officially oppose the construction of an overpass or underpass as a means to alleviate congestion at 47th Street and East Avenue. The resolution unanimously passed by the La Grange village board says "the village believes that any grade separation west of the intersection on 47th Street would be detrimental to the quality of life for our residents, would significantly, adversely and forever change the...

Elmhurst city manager James Grabowski reviewed the city's five-year capital expenditure budget with city council members Monday, laying out a proposed spending plan of nearly $80 million and one that included a couple of surprises. One of those surprises was what appeared to be a $2 million increase in the expected cost of the Southwest Elmhurst Wet Weather Control facility, a group of improvements around the Saylor and Jackson lift station that officials say has the potential to...

A brief but intense storm dropped enough rain on Elmhurst Thursday afternoon to flood the city's Palmer Drive underpass, even forcing fire trucks to avoid using it. Officials sent out a bulletin on the closing just after 4:30 p.m. and had city emergency vehicles parked on both the north and south approaches to the low point of the underpass to prevent drivers from attempting to pass through the standing water. The underpass takes traffic under the Metra tracks in the center of town.

The city of Elmhurst has outlined a list of capital projects it might do over the next five years, including construction of an underpass at York Road and the Illinois Prairie Path. City Manager Jim Grabowski recently introduced the idea of building an underpass at the intersection that is frequently used by pedestrians and cyclists. He said the project would cost about $3.2 million, but the city wants to pursue grants of at least $1.76 million for the project. Grabowski...

Cutting across town to beat the train may eventually be a thing of the past at one busy Mundelein intersection after the village board agreed to allocate $350,000 to study a potential grade separation at Route 60/83 and the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern railroad tracks. A grade separation is a crossing that uses either an underpass or an overpass, so commuters would be able to avoid crossing the tracks if the plan materializes. The study recently approved by the village...

James Cady was relieved to learn that the Illinois Department of Transportation has abandoned plans to build an underpass on Higgins Road at Golf Road. "It might be safe and wonderful, but it would not work," said Cady, after hearing that the idea of an underpass at the heavily traveled intersection had been abandoned. Cady's insurance business is at 525 W. Higgins Rd., just south of Golf Road, and his driveway would have been eliminated if Higgins Road were cut down to pass under Golf...

The Lake County Forest Preserves will use a $1.9 million federal grant to help pay to build a Rollins Road underpass on the Millennium Trail in Grayslake, according to county officials. The underpass, which will be just west of U.S. Route 45, will connect Fourth Lake and Rollins Savanna forest preserves. Rollins Road is the southern border of Fourth Lake Forest Preserve near Lindenhurst and the northern border of Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve near Grayslake. County...

The Lake County Forest Preserves will use a $1.9 million federal grant to help pay to build a Rollins Road underpass on the Millennium Trail in Grayslake, according to county officials. The underpass, which will be just west of U.S. Route 45, will connect Fourth Lake and Rollins Savanna forest preserves. Rollins Road is the southern border of Fourth Lake Forest Preserve near Lindenhurst and the northern border of Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve near Grayslake. County...

State transportation officials have approved a preliminary design plan for a pedestrian underpass at the Metra stop in west Lake Forest, bringing the project one step closer to completion. But funding for the project remains $3.3 million short of its estimated budget, according to officials. Growing costs and the elimination of a tax increment financing district last month have both contributed to the financial shortfall, officials say. City Manager Bob Kiely said the city was...

The city of Elmhurst has outlined a list of capital projects it might do over the next five years, including construction of an underpass at York Road and the Illinois Prairie Path. City Manager Jim Grabowski recently introduced the idea of building an underpass at the intersection that is frequently used by pedestrians and cyclists. He said the project would cost about $3.2 million, but the city wants to pursue grants of at least $1.76 million for the project. Grabowski...